With all due credit to Abhinav Bindra, most level-headed Indians realized in a matter of a few hours on Monday that the young shooter's feat in Beijing has embarrassed them more than it has made them proud.
For, Abhinav is a self-made champion. Coming from a wealthy family which has at its disposal the wherewithal to provide him the necessary facilities of the costly sport, he persevered hard, became world champion and consequently won Olympic gold. His father provided the shooting range in the backyard of the house for his training. And there is absolutely no role of the nation in building his sports career. Alas, what help the corruption-ridden Indian sport setup including the notorious Indian Olympics Association could have provided Abhinav ? But, the guardians of Indian sports are extremely professional in taking credit for his feat. It is no surprise even if those at the helm of affairs in Indian sports bodies get promoted/felicitated for their role in Abhinav's feat!
It is a fact universally acknowledged that every Indian citizen in possession of some knowledge must be in need of no more evidence to prove the unprofessionalism most evident in the country's sports setup.
And this has led to a circumstance that any celebration of Bindra's achievement can never be majestic but pathetic. As my friend impulsively pointed out, New York Times' headline - "With India’s First Gold, Suddenly a Billion People Notice the Olympics" - sums up the sports pathos of the country. Other headlines were equally serious/humourous: "Bindra ends India’s wait for individual Olympic gold" (Thaindian.com); "Shooter Bindra wins India's first solo gold medal" (AFP); "India fetes first gold medallist" (BBC). These effectively describe the desperation of a billion people for an Olympic gold.
Not only celebration, the country seems to be finding it difficult even to give a balanced response to what Bindra has achieved. We either foolishly compare his feat with some of the completely unrelated sports glories of the past like cricket world cup (1983) or the recent 20/20 world cup (Sports minister M S Gill spontaneously said it is a bigger win than 20/20 world cup victory) or we immediately get down to business, the monetary worth of and inflow to Abhinav Bindra as the following headlines suggest:
" Tamil Nadu announces Rs. 5 lakhs for Bindra " (The Hindu)
"After Olympic gold, cash rewards flow in for Bindra" (NDTV)
" India's golden Bindra gets lifetime rail pass " (Reuters)
" MP CM announces reward of Rs. 5 lakhs for Bindra " (The Hindu)
" Bindra could command Rs 2 crores per endorsement " (Sify)
" Bihar govt to reward Bindra with Rs 11 lakh " (Economic Times)
" Bindra receives Rs 25 lakh award from Haryana govt " (Business Standard)
" BCCI doles out Rs 25 lakh for Olympic champ Bindra " (Times of India)
" Deshmukh announces Rs 10 lakh cash prize to Bindra " (Hindu)
" Yeddyurappa announces 10 lakh for Abhinav Bindra " (Mangalorean.com)
" Orissa announces Rs.500000 award for Bindra " (SINDH TODAY, Pakistan)
" Bindra's parents on his eligible bachelor label post-win " (IBNLive.com)
" SAIL awards Rs 5 lakh to Bindra " (Moneycontrol.com)
" Punjab government announces award of Rs.1 crore for Bindra " (PunjabNewsline.com)
Monday, August 11, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
KSRTC has changed, passengers haven't
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) which was just another public sector white elephant sometime back is now on a sensational ride. KSRTC, now sub-divided into four zones, is now making profit, and consequently, its buses offer better safety, comfort and punctuality when compared to the recklessly managed private buses. I, like most other frequent-long-distance travellers, am amazed at the change of approach and demeaner of KSRTC staff. They appear to be thorough professionals and prompt (remember the days when you wouldn't get tickets in return for your money !).
But sadly, the mindset of the passengers has remained much the same. Most of them still think they can travel in government buses in the manner they want and that the conductors are a redundant presence in buses. More sadder part is that the youth, who otherwise wear the garb of thorough professionals, behave like uncouth sapiens with the bus staff.
The other day in Shimoga when I boarded a volvo bus bound for Bangalore, three youths who appeared to be software professionals, made the other thirty-five passengers of the bus wait for nearly an hour because of their ignorance/arrogance regarding the ticketing procedure. They had booked e-tickets but forgot to bring their original identity cards to be verified by the bus staff as stipulated by the KSRTC.
When the lady conductor of the bus asked for original identity card, one of the two in question produced a xerox copy. She insisted for the orginal but the men argued that nobody would keep original identity cards and that the rules of KSRTC held no importance for them. When the matter reached the boiling point, one of the three claimed that he had a original ID card and he is the brother of the ticket holder. "When I am certifying my brother, what other identity would you require", he challenged. But the mild-mannered lady was not ready to relent to the `kinship claims' and she re-confirmed that xerox copies of identity cards are not considered valid, after calling a department official over phone. She also advised the three to pay again for the reserved seats and get refund for e-tickets they have booked, later.
But the three men called up some senior government official of their acquaintance and coerced their entry into the bus. They were least cared about what would happen to the poor lady conductor if their travel in the bus was considered illegal by checking squad. As far as I know, the KSRTC is merciless on erring staff, most of whom are contract employees, and the punishment ranges from high penalty to suspension from service. This delayed the departure of the bus by nearly an hour, leaving the fellow passengers red-faced.
Add to this another episode: A government official of (Additional) Superintendent of Police rank (considered by Lokayukta as one of the most corrupt after unearthing disproportionate assets worth crores possessed by the officer in question) also boarded the same bus on a supposedly official visit to Bangalore. He claimed that he was eligible for free travel which was objected to by the lady conductor. Surprised by this, he issued a mild threat to her saying that he would engage her at a higher level of bureaucracy. I later saw her consulting the staff of other buses during a midnight stopover, about the `overwhelming presence' of the `hugely grown' bureaucrat in the bus. Her colleagues advised her to issue the ticket to the officer, even if it meant shelling out from her pocket, to escape punishment which was imminent in case she was found guilty by checking squad later during the journey. She was caught between two threats.
She promptly issued a ticket to the officer along with a copy of KSRTC guideline that no official can claim free travel in high-end volvo buses on the grounds of official visits. He read the guideline and returned it and gave no money, but. She took his cell number and also requested him to brief the depot manager about his travel so that she would be spared of paying the money from her salary.
The conductor appeared to me as a symbol of a much-changed work culture in the overhauled KSRTC, a professional confronted with unprofessional customers and a woman who finds it too hot to handle the arrogance/ignorance of male beauracrats.
But sadly, the mindset of the passengers has remained much the same. Most of them still think they can travel in government buses in the manner they want and that the conductors are a redundant presence in buses. More sadder part is that the youth, who otherwise wear the garb of thorough professionals, behave like uncouth sapiens with the bus staff.
The other day in Shimoga when I boarded a volvo bus bound for Bangalore, three youths who appeared to be software professionals, made the other thirty-five passengers of the bus wait for nearly an hour because of their ignorance/arrogance regarding the ticketing procedure. They had booked e-tickets but forgot to bring their original identity cards to be verified by the bus staff as stipulated by the KSRTC.
When the lady conductor of the bus asked for original identity card, one of the two in question produced a xerox copy. She insisted for the orginal but the men argued that nobody would keep original identity cards and that the rules of KSRTC held no importance for them. When the matter reached the boiling point, one of the three claimed that he had a original ID card and he is the brother of the ticket holder. "When I am certifying my brother, what other identity would you require", he challenged. But the mild-mannered lady was not ready to relent to the `kinship claims' and she re-confirmed that xerox copies of identity cards are not considered valid, after calling a department official over phone. She also advised the three to pay again for the reserved seats and get refund for e-tickets they have booked, later.
But the three men called up some senior government official of their acquaintance and coerced their entry into the bus. They were least cared about what would happen to the poor lady conductor if their travel in the bus was considered illegal by checking squad. As far as I know, the KSRTC is merciless on erring staff, most of whom are contract employees, and the punishment ranges from high penalty to suspension from service. This delayed the departure of the bus by nearly an hour, leaving the fellow passengers red-faced.
Add to this another episode: A government official of (Additional) Superintendent of Police rank (considered by Lokayukta as one of the most corrupt after unearthing disproportionate assets worth crores possessed by the officer in question) also boarded the same bus on a supposedly official visit to Bangalore. He claimed that he was eligible for free travel which was objected to by the lady conductor. Surprised by this, he issued a mild threat to her saying that he would engage her at a higher level of bureaucracy. I later saw her consulting the staff of other buses during a midnight stopover, about the `overwhelming presence' of the `hugely grown' bureaucrat in the bus. Her colleagues advised her to issue the ticket to the officer, even if it meant shelling out from her pocket, to escape punishment which was imminent in case she was found guilty by checking squad later during the journey. She was caught between two threats.
She promptly issued a ticket to the officer along with a copy of KSRTC guideline that no official can claim free travel in high-end volvo buses on the grounds of official visits. He read the guideline and returned it and gave no money, but. She took his cell number and also requested him to brief the depot manager about his travel so that she would be spared of paying the money from her salary.
The conductor appeared to me as a symbol of a much-changed work culture in the overhauled KSRTC, a professional confronted with unprofessional customers and a woman who finds it too hot to handle the arrogance/ignorance of male beauracrats.
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